


Bright Lights, Big City (she dreams of love; he lives to run)

by britishatheart



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Photographer Daryl, Singer Beth, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-30 21:18:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3952126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/britishatheart/pseuds/britishatheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl wasn't very sure how that was going to happen.<br/>He had been a professional photographer for years now, but the moment she stepped into the studio, all of his years of experience seemed to have vanished, disappeared along with his reason.<br/>That seemed to be the only explanation possible; reason had escaped him with probably so many other things because how else could he explain the uncharacteristic pull he felt when his eyes landed on the young and dainty country star, Beth Greene?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hiddlesandreedus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddlesandreedus/gifts).



> This has not been Beta Read or proof read to be honest, so all errors you'll most definitely find are my fault. Sincerest apologies for that.
> 
> On a different matter, this was inspired by a series of BTS photos of Emily Kinney 'This Is War' that I saw on [Sarah's blog](http://hiddlesandreedus.tumblr.com/tagged/this+is+war) so, y'all can blame her for that. Well, not really, but you know what I mean...

* * *

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels,  
in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”

_Ansel Adams_

* * *

 

_'But Daryl...'_

'Look, man, how many times do I have to say–– I don' care about the paycheck. I won't do it.' Tossing the broken lens onto his bed, Daryl took his feet off the table and stood up.

He had been hearing his friend, Glenn, for the longest of times now. Honestly, he had no idea why he was still talking to him; hell, he had no idea why Glenn came to him –– _him_ of all people –– to ask for such a thing.

He had known Glenn for years now and the two of them had been friends for so long he didn't even remember how they met. And he should have because Daryl Dixon wasn't very good with people. He was an amazing photographer, recognised worldwide, but his thing was photos. Not people.

Sure, he worked with people, but he was known to be very picky with his clients... and he never, not once, did anything pretty. He did shocking. He did edgy. He definitely didn't do pretty.

'I don' even know why you're asking me this,' he said as he grabbed his mobile phone and headed to the kitchen. 'Call Carol. Pretty sure she'll be damn glad to do it...'

He was convinced he heard a sigh before dropping the device onto the cold granite of the kitchen sink.

_'Already called_ _her_ _,'_ Glenn admitted defeatedly. _'She's_ _in New York_ _for an upcoming Levi's campaign_ _._ _She_ _won't make it in time... which is why I need_ you _to do it.'_

It was Daryl's turn to sigh as he stood in front of the open fridge.

'What about––'

_'Daryl,_ _I didn't want to do this but you owe me.'_

He sighed again. He should've known Glenn would not forget that one time he was hangover and forgot all about a photo-shoot he had scheduled and rescheduled so many times before... and that was years ago. He didn't remember that shit. Not until now.

'C'mon, Rhee...'

_'Great. It's settled. She'll be there at two, tomorrow_ _. Don't even think about bailing.'_

And with that he was gone and he was left with this heavy burden to bear.

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, Daryl closed the door with his feet and made his way back to his bedroom.

'For fuck's sake...'

 


	2. Chapter 2

Even though a huge part of Daryl wanted nothing more than to not go to his studio and not do anything that was slightly related to that goddamned photo-shoot, he didn't give into it and shortly after grabbing lunch in a fast-food place near his flat, Daryl headed straight to his other address, near downtown.

That was his place, his studio, and he had the essential with him… but something felt strange; he wasn't digging the arrangement.

He couldn't do it.

But he wasn't going to just up and out either.

No. What he was going to do was to sit there and wait until world's next Taylor Swift showed up and then he was going to talk to her and hopefully have her call Glenn and reschedule that thing. Hell, he'd even give her Carol's number because she seemed way more appropriate for this thing...

Yes. That sounded like a solid plan, and Daryl was going with it.

He didn't even bother getting his camera and his lenses and making tests with the light and everything. He simply dropped his bag onto his desk –– but carefully not to break anything –– and literally fell upon the sofa he had a few feet front the desk, directly in front of the wall of floor to ceiling windows.

He stretched his legs in front of him and folded his hands upon his abdomen while leaning his head backwards. Daryl waited.

Checking his wrist watch, he noticed it was only 1:37 p.m.

It seemed it was going to take a while...

+++

He was almost dozing off when the sound of someone knocking on the door made him raise his head.

Checking his watch again, Daryl learnt only seven minutes had passed. It wasn't two yet so he figured it should be someone else.

But he wasn't really waiting for anyone else... was he? Did he schedule something and forgot to add it to his agenda? And by agenda he meant scribbling something on a post-it and fixing it on his fridge… did he?

Pushing his body off the sofa, Daryl made his way to the door. Whether it was someone he had agreed to meet and forgot or some new client or whatever, there was really only one way to find out.

So he answered the door. He didn't look through the peephole to see who was on the other side of the door, he simply opened it...

... and when he did, he kind of wished he had checked the peephole. Not that it would have made much of a difference because he was going to do that anyways –– answer the door ––, but maybe then he would have prepared himself for what he saw.

Or better still, _who_ he saw.

Standing on the other side of the door was a petite young woman. Shiny blond hair that was tied in a ponytail and falling down her left shoulder; skin so fair that didn't look like she had seen the sun in the last couple of weeks –– or ever, for that matter; expressive bright blue eyes; small and delicate nose; lips so very rosy that curved upwards in a bright and open smile as she reached out a hand.

'Hi,' she said, and he didn't know why he was surprised to see that her voice matched her angelic appearance so much but he was. 'I'm Beth. Greene.'

Unsure what to do but, at the same time, knowing exactly what he had to do, Daryl took her hand in his. She had very soft hands. Like her voice. She had very soft hands _and_ very soft voice.

'You must be Dixon?' She said and Daryl tried to frown.

He only tried because when he made such attempt, he realised he was already frowning. He could only wonder why that girl was smiling at him when he was clearly frowning at her.

'I talked to Glenn last night,' Beth continued to talk. 'He said you had agreed in doing this.'

If she was bothered by him or his frowning or his lack of response to her words or anything at all, Beth Greene did not show. In fact, she continued to smile at him. She continued to smile at him while standing on the other side of the door.

Realisation washed over Daryl and he took a step to the side and held the door open for her.

'Come in,' he half said, half grunted as he gestured to the interior of the studio.

With yet another smile –– she seemed to smile a lot –– and a kind 'thank you', Beth stepped inside.

Suddenly, Daryl felt this strange urge to clean things up. To his standards, his workplace was pretty tidy. Maybe not meticulously organised and shit, but it wasn't dirty and he could find everything he wanted with no problem. However, there was something ridiculously contrasting with his workplace and, well... _her_.

If he had any doubts that he shouldn't be the one doing this before, he had no doubts now.

Beth Greene was all delicate and gentle and dainty. She was the epitome of everything Daryl never was, would never be and had never so much tried working with so different from him it was. They were polar opposites at its finest.

He couldn't do that. He shouldn't do that and he needed to figure out a way to tell her that, which was rather funny because in any other circumstances, if he didn't want to do something, he would just say it. No beating around the bush, no nothing, he would simply tell them he wasn't interested; if they insisted he would just tell them to find someone else; if that didn't do the trick, well... suffice to say that Daryl Dixon was not known for his delicate manners.

Nonetheless, there he was; trying to figure out what could be the best way to turn down that one job...

'This is nice...' Beth's singsong voice pulled Daryl from his train of thoughts –– whatever that was –– and back to reality.

Blinking a couple of times, Daryl fixed his eyes on the perky blonde who was standing a few steps away from him. He was just about to ask her what exactly was nice when she turned around. Briefly before their eyes met, Daryl noticed she was looking around, taking in everything in his studio and that's when he figured she should be talking about the place.

_Well, what the hell else could she possibly be talking about?_ He scolded himself for his stupidity inwardly.

'This is really nice,' she said once more. That insistent –– and seemingly permanent –– smile still plastered on her face.

'Yeah,' he said after clearing his throat. 'Listen, about this photo-shoot...'

'Oh, about that! I wanted to thank you _so much_ for agreeing to this.' She half walked, half skipped her way back to where Daryl was standing.

He couldn't help but frown when she interrupted him unceremoniously. He wasn't used to that. He was certainly not used to people skipping and thanking him _so much_ for anything... Well, all of his clients thanked him, of course, but they didn't do it like _that_ –– all wide smiles, big bright eyes as they bounced a little. That had certainly never happened to him. Ever.

'When Glenn called and said you had agreed,' she continued, completely unfazed. 'I must admit, I was a little unsure and very much surprised... but then I saw your website and saw some of your previous works and, I have to admit, I'm very excited about this!'

Throughout her little speech, Daryl tried more than just a couple of times to interrupt her to tell her she had gotten it all wrong, that he hadn't really accepted anything because Glenn –– their mutual friend, to Daryl's great displeasure –– hadn't given him the chance to decline it, but when she said that she was very excited, he couldn't help it.

'Are you?' He blurted out without really thinking about how that could sound.

Her smile grew bigger, something that Daryl didn't think possible, and she nodded. 'Yes! I think your style fits perfectly with all that I have in mind.'

If Beth hadn't stopped smiling, Daryl hadn't stopped frowning. His style fitting _perfectly_ with what she had in mind? That seemed impossible and improbable.

'And what exactly was that that you had in mind?' He asked while folding his arms across his chest.

'Well, I'm not sure if you know, but I started off as a country artist,' Beth began rather timidly, because Daryl didn't look like someone who listened to teenage country singers.

Daryl Dixon was definitely not the kind of person who listened to that kind of thing but he didn't say anything. He simply nodded and Beth took that as her cue to continue.

'I will always love country. I grew up with it so I'll always have it in me, but I have made the decision of trying new things... I want to challenge myself as an artist.'

At this point, Daryl's curiosity had overtaken everything else that he could be feeling so he just rolled with it.

'An' how exactly you plan on doin' that?'

She smiled shyly before saying, 'Rock music.'


	3. Chapter 3

_Rock music._

Her voice echoed in his mind for what seemed like a long time but was just a few seconds. A few seconds of complete silence because, seriously, what the hell was he supposed to say to that? Beth Greene doing rock music? Rock music?!

'Well, not _exactly_ rock as in hard rock,' she said a moment later. 'Something more pop-rock, folk-rock, you know?'

'I didn't say anythin',' Daryl replied; his tone was kind of defensive because he had not really said anything, not even a single word.

'You didn't,' she conceded. 'But you were thinking, and I know that because you had that look on your face...'

Daryl frowned and shifted his weight from one leg to the other. 'What... what look? What are you talking about?'

Beth let out a soft sigh.

'It's that look that people always give me when I say I want to try new things? Like they're thinking that that's really not my thing, that I should stick to country music because that's what I do best... but I don't want to _just_ do that, you know? I want to try new things. Am I wrong for wanting to try new things? Should I not want that?'

Daryl opened his mouth to answer, but another look at Beth and he closed his mouth without saying a word. Truth is, the thought crossed his mind. Not that she should just keep doing country music, but that rock music was something that was very different from her... but then, hearing her say that and the way she very much disagreed with that opinion made Daryl change his mind instantly.

'No,' he said after a moment.

Beth's eyebrows furrowed slightly. 'What?'

'No. I mean, you're not wrong... to want that... try different things.'

Closing his eyes, Daryl mentally cursed himself. What was the freaking matter with him?! He couldn't get himself to speak without hesitating and getting tangled up with words. What...?

But then he opened his eyes and there she was. Big blue eyes and bright open smile. Why exactly she was smiling was just beyond Daryl. He knew he hadn't stopped frowning ever since he opened the door, so he was just puzzled. But he didn't comment and he didn't complain.

'That's nice of you to say,' Beth chirped, and even though he knew it was rude to snort, he did so anyways.

'What?' The young blonde asked and tilted her head to the side.

'That's something I was never accused of.'

'Of... being nice?'

'Yep.'

'Oh yeah,' Beth said absently as she turned on her heels and started to walk around. 'I forgot you're the dark and brooding type of person...'

Averting his eyes to the floor, Daryl couldn't help the little smile that pulled at his lips. It was more like a smirk, but still... not many people could get that out of him.

'So,' he said raising his head and walking towards the sofa. 'What were you thinking about then?'

'About...?'

Looking over his shoulder, Daryl noticed Beth stopped walking. She seemed to be looking at some of his photos for her fingertips were still touching the edges of one of them.

'The photo-shoot. What were you thinking about?'

Beth's eyes widened some and she let out an exclamation of surprise. No wonder. He was quite surprised he was asking that as well; that he was considering such a thing...

'I was thinking...' she began and made her way to the sofa. 'I was thinking it could be like a rehearsal, maybe?' She wrung her fingers and bit on her lips as she frowned a little. For the first time since she walked into that room, Beth Greene seemed nervous.

'Go on,' Daryl said encouragingly.

That seemed to ease her a little bit for then she sat on the edge of the sofa -- one seat away from Daryl -- but she looked at him as he reached for his camera.

'Like, the guys and I would be rehearsing and that could be the atmosphere... the setting? What do you think?'

Daryl thought about that for a moment as he checked his camera.

Her idea wasn't so bad. He didn't know how exactly the actual atmosphere of her rehearsals with the band was, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

'Or it could be something else,' she said, making Daryl raise his head.

She was looking at him, but there were traces of uncertainty in her eyes. She was hesitant again.

'What?' The question rolled from his lips before he could even think. It was only then that he realised he hadn't answered when she had asked what he thought of her idea. 'No, that sounds good... the rehearsal thing,' he said, waving a hand as he spoke. Then he added, 'tell me about this new project of yours.'

He asked because he wanted to have a better idea than just "something more pop-rock, folk-rock". Then he could think of how to arrange that.

Daryl briefly looked up and was met with Beth's bright blue eyes. She smiled at him before starting to explain all about her adventure into rock.


End file.
